Unforeseen Consequences
by X Kalika X
Summary: What should have happened at Naruto and Sasuke's battle at the Valley of the End? I suck at summaries SasuNaru, Rated M for self-injury and yaoi to come. Thanks to Selim for the title!
1. Chapter 1

Unfortunately I had to re-submit this because the document manager thing screwed it up, put I left the original author's notes in each chapter

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SailorMystika (now X Kalika X): I just thought I would take this opportunity to let everyone know that I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did, it would be rated MA for Sasu/Naru moments.

Critiques and Criticisms are welcome! Flames will be laughed at, and the flamer pitied.

Title ideas are also appreciated.

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"Has everything that Team 7 went through meant nothing to you!?" Naruto yelled

at the boy who no longer seemed to be Sasuke.

The ebony haired boy closed his eyes.

"No." he answered. "To me...you have become my best friend."

Naruto's eye's widened. "Then why..."

"Which is why there is meaning in defeating you." Sasuke finished.

Naruto had no time to be confused as his fellow genin suddenly began to speed

toward him.

The youngest Uchiha performed a set of hand seals and cried "Chidori!!"

Naruto grunted as he jumped up.

_He's serious..._ thought the blonde, almost more sadly than angrily.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" he yelled, performing his own hand seals.

Then Naruto began the technique that Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, had taught him.

"Rasengan!!"

The two young shinobi sped toward each other, before colliding with a big burst of chakra.

The boys held their ground for a few moments, before they were both forced back by the power of their attacks.

Naruto lay on the surface of the clear blue water, staring up at the sky.

_It's true..._ he thought, turning his head so that he could see his former teammate.

_He's really trying to kill me._

Naruto moved so that he was crouching on the water's surface. His wet blonde hair fell over his eyes, hiding them from view.

Sasuke stared at his opponent, thinking fast.

_I have to create an opening...then I can use Chidori!_

He twisted his hands into some familiar seals, and then...

"Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!!"

Naruto leapt out of the way of the handful of fireballs that came rushing toward him. Sasuke followed, and began to rain some Rock Lee style kicks on the blonde. Naruto fell to the ground, without so much as a grunt. The dark haired genin narrowed his eyes, his chest prickling oddly.

_He's not even trying to defend himself!_ he realized.

The last Uchiha shook off the weird feeling that surrounded his heart. Naruto slowly began to rise.

_Now!_ thought Sasuke.

He performed the necessary hand seals mind-numbingly fast.

"CHIDORI!!"

The small blonde hardly saw it coming, but time seemed to slow for Sasuke as he felt his left fist pierce Naruto's chest, just below his shoulder.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Naruto finally lifted his head to look Sasuke in the eye.

The young Uchiha cringed as he saw his younger friend's eyes.

They weren't filled with hatred, intense pain, or fear.

Instead there was sadness, and other emotions that were unreadable to Sasuke.

Then a faint smile crossed the blonde's face.

"I didn't really hate you," he said, a bit raspily.

Sasuke shook as Naruto reached out and took hold of his sleeve.

"I really wanted to be like you," he continued.

"You're my best friend...I won't let Orochimaru have you..."

Naruto's eyes closed, and he said nothing more.

Sasuke stood frozen, his arm still inside his teammate, and best friend.

"Unnhh!" he grunted as he quickly pulled his arm out. Naruto fell to the ground, and Sasuke felt a slight tug.

The blonde genin's hand was still gripping his sleeve.

The last Uchiha fell to his knees beside the fallen boy, his thoughts wild.

_Is he dead? He is, right? That's...that's what I wanted...right? What the hell was he talking about?... No, it doesn't matter..._

Sasuke pulled Naruto's hand from his sleeve. His hand was ice cold. The ebony haired shinobi stood, shakily.

_Go...You did it, so go..._

Sasuke gasped as the seal on his neck suddenly burned, and something he himself had said in the past echoed in his ears.

_"I don't want to watch anymore important friends die in front of me..."_

He turned back to his own victim, staring wide-eyed.

_Wake up... _said a small voice in Sasuke's head.

_Wake up Naruto...Get up do-_

"Do...be?" he uttered aloud.

No! shouted his own voice inside his head.

Sasuke stopped. Something was happening. Red chakra began to swirl around Naruto's wound. Then the slightest intake of breath was heard from his direction.

Naruto was alive.

Without another word, Sasuke turned and ran.

--

A few minutes later, Hatake Kakashi appeared.

"Sasuke..." was all he said before picking up Naruto and disappearing again.

--

Uchiha Sasuke stopped and leaned against a tree. He had only run a few miles, and his direction had been neither toward The Village of Sound, nor toward Konohagakure.

_What are you doing? You should have finished the job!_ came his own voice.

Sasuke sat down against the tree. His pale hand rose and rested itself on the cursed seal.

"Anhh!" he gasped as it burned painfully.

_Forget him, continue on to Orochimaru... his power can kill Itachi!_

Sasuke imagined himself talking to Naruto.

_"Orochimaru will give me his power so I can kill my brother!" the Uchiha shouted._

Sasuke somehow knew exactly what the blonde would say...

_"Dammnit! The Sasuke I know wouldn't be so weak!... He'd use his own power!!"_

The dark-haired genin rose. He knew which one of them was right.

Uchiha Sasuke began to walk.

--

Haruno Sakura was waiting at the gate that led out of Konoha. She chewed on her bottom lip, praying that both Naruto and Sasuke would return in one piece. She knew that Kakashi had gone after them. The kunoichi waited eagerly for her teammates and sensei to come back.

The large gate began to open. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Sasuke-kun?! Naruto?" she said excitedly, looking to see who was there.

Kakashi stepped into Konoha. He looked at the pink-haired genin, feeling very bad for her.

The light of hope in Sakura's eyes faded. Sasuke wasn't standing before her. Only Kakashi-sensei, holding a bloody, unconscious Naruto.

"Ka- Kakashi-sensei..?" she murmured, her sea-green eyes beginning to moisten.

"He's alive. But...someone...punched a hole right through him. I have to get him to the hospital." stated the silver-haired shinobi.

He paused for a moment, then was off.

The 12-year-old kunoichi continued to stare towards the gate for a moment, as if hoping Sasuke had been following a bit behind.

Then she turned and began to make her way to the hospital, a tear coursing down her cheek.

She was already long gone when the gate began to reopen.


	2. Chapter 2

To Selim: At first I wasn't a huge fan of your title suggestion, but after thinking about it, I realized it's perfect! Thanks a lot! The title of this fanfic will be 'Unforeseen Consequences' !

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Sakura sat in a chair with her head in her hands. Beside her was Naruto, still unconscious in his hospital bed.

The Kyuubi had healed a lot of the damage, and the doctor had done the most he could with the rest. Naruto would be ok.

The kunoichi looked up, wiping her eyes. She had vowed to stay by the blonde's side until he awoke, but she had to use the bathroom.

She quietly exited the room, tears still running down her face.

Naruto's head was pounding. He was half conscious, but he had yet to open his eyes.

_I failed... _he thought, almost wanting to cry himself,_ I've failed Sakura...I failed myself...But worst of all...I failed Sasuke..._

Naruto's eyes fluttered, though he wished he were still lost in blissful sleep.

_Wait..._ he thought when his eyelids had fallen again, _What was that in the window...?_

He managed to half open his eyes again. His vision was a bit blurry, but he saw something in the window. Someone.

_It looks like...is that...?_

Before he could finish his thought, unconsciousness reclaimed him, and Naruto fell back into a dreamless sleep.

When Sakura returned, the scene before her was unchanged from when she last saw it.

--

Uchiha Sasuke sat in his own basement. He had returned to Konoha, the seal on his neck stinging the whole way. He had managed to check on Naruto with no one seeing him.

_They must hate me..._ he thought.

But he was relieved. Naruto had looked much better. Sasuke had even thought he saw the blonde's eyes open.

_Naruto...I'm sorry...Do you hate me now too?_

Eventually, the Uchiha fell asleep where he sat.

--

Uzumaki Naruto awoke with a start. He sat bolt upright, but his injuries caused him to fall right back to his pillow.

Haruno Sakura, who hadn't slept yet, jumped and cried, "Naruto! You're awake! But don't be so energetic, you're still injured!"

"-ke?"

"Eh?" asked Sakura, Naruto had said something that had been drowned out by her own voice.

"Where's Sasuke!?" repeated the blonde.

Sakura's face fell. Did he not remember what happened?

"...Sasuke-kun didn't come back with you..." she answered timidly.

Naruto sat up again, slower this time, and managed to remain upright.

"I know that! He put his hand through me and left! But he was here! Last night!"

Sakura's eyes widened. Was her teammate having delusions because of his injuries?

"N- Naruto...I was with you all last night...nobody else came in..."

Naruto was becoming frustrated. "He was here! Sasuke came back...!"

_Was I dreaming...?_ he wondered.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She stuttered something about getting the hyperactive ninja some water, and exited the room.

She stood for a moment outside the door, wondering if she should get a doctor.

_...I need some fresh air..._ thought the young kunoichi.

She walked down to the ground floor, and out into the garden in front of the building. Sakura breathed deep, and sighed.

Then she jerked her head to the right. She could swear she just saw someone out of the corner of her eye, and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, telling her she was being watched.

Nothing was there.

"I must need sleep..." Sakura muttered to herself.

The pink-haired genin re-entered the hospital and fetched Naruto his water. Sakura was glad to see that he seemed to have calmed down a bit.

She then apologized, and told her teammate that she needed to go home for a while.

Naruto told the girl he'd be fine, so Sakura made her way home. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

--

Sasuke had seen the female genin leave. He was now in a secluded spot in the woods near his house. He hadn't risked seeing Naruto again, he reasoned that if Sakura left, the blonde must be awake by now, and he was definitely not ready to be seen by the "friend" he had almost killed.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from right behind the Uchiha, "Okaeri, Sasuke."

The pale young shinobi spun around so fast he almost fell over.

Hatake Kakashi was standing behind him, his one visible eye slightly amused.

Sasuke's eyes grew wide with surprise, and a hint of fear. This only lasted a moment though, he quickly looked down at his feet.

"You found me...I guess I'm in big trouble now, right?"

Kakashi ignored the question.

"Naruto is going to be fine. He'll be released later today."

Sasuke nodded, and gave a small choking noise. Kakashi was only slightly surprised to see a tear escape one obsidian eye.

"Go see him. He wants to see you."

Sasuke looked up in surprise, "Wh-why would he want to see me? Does he know I'm here...?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"The only thing Naruto has been blathering about all day is going after you again. He says he won't let 'that snake bastard' touch his best friend."

The Uchiha made another choking noise.

_He...He still calls me his best friend...? After what I did...?_

Sasuke jerked his head in a nod, turned, and ran.


	3. Chapter 3

A few moments later, Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of the hospital building

A few moments later, Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of the hospital building. Now that he knew Naruto didn't hate him, he felt an overwhelming need to see the younger shinobi. Out of the corner of his eye he could see villagers pointing and whispering. They must have heard what happened.

The Uchiha ignored them and went inside. He quickly made his way to his teammate's room. He stood in front of the door for a moment, wondering if he should really do this. Before he could decide, he heard a gasp from behind him. He turned to see Haruno Sakura. She had been carrying a basket of fruit, but it was now on the floor, it's contents rolling in all directions.

Before Sasuke could say or do anything, the pink-haired kunoichi came forward and gave him a sound slap on the cheek. Then she burst into loud tears, like when she had seen the Uchiha's "dead" body on the bridge in the Country of Wave.

Sasuke opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He had no idea what to say to his (former, at least) admirer.

Naruto was staring out the window when he heard a slight commotion outside his door. He heard the sound of someone getting hit, then Sakura's sobs.

_Sakura! Did someone attack her..?!_ thought the blonde, jumping out of bed.

The first person he saw when he flung the door open was Sakura, sobbing on her knees. Naruto had just opened his mouth to ask what had happened, when he saw who was with the kunoichi.

Sasuke flinched, nervously wondering what the younger boy would do. He expected anger, or agitation, or perhaps even tears like Sakura. The dark-haired boy was shocked when Naruto threw his arms around him and excitedly cried, "Sasuke! You came back! I knew you'd make the right choice! You're not called one of Konoha's 'geniuses' for nothing!"

Sakura stared, with a hint of relief in her green eyes.

Sasuke gaped for a moment, then, with the slightest falter, muttered, "N-Naruto?"

"It's ok," the blonde uttered in a voice close to a whisper, "Daijoubu."

_Ha-has he...?...He's...forgiven me...?...already...?_

The Uchiha squeezed his eyes shut and hesitantly raised an arm as if to return Naruto's embrace, but dropped it quickly. He was too embarrassed, and felt too guilty. So instead, he lowered his head so that his face was half buried in the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm sorry...I'm...sorry..." mumbled Sasuke.

--

Meanwhile, a certain sannin in the Hidden Village of Sound had found out what had happened, and was livid. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and formed a single seal.

--

Back in Konoha, Naruto felt like crying he was so relieved. He was about to tell Sasuke that he forgave him, when the Uchiha suddenly gasped and slipped from the blonde's grasp, and was suddenly on his knees at Naruto's feet. His hand flew up to the cursed seal on his neck, and a loud cry, almost a scream, ripped out of Sasuke's throat. Naruto's eyes widened in panic.

"Sasuke!?"

The Uchiha had his hand clamped onto the back of his neck. Tiny points of light exploded before his eyes. The seal that Orochimaru had given him hurt worse than it ever had before. The dark-haired boy's teeth clenched over his bottom lip, sending a trickle of blood down his chin. Naruto crouched down so that the next thing Sasuke saw was big blue eyes staring worriedly into his own.

""Na.. Naruto..."

_Why...do you look so...worried...about...about me...?_

Naruto's chest ached, but he dismissed it and grabbed Sasuke's wrist, prying the pale, sweaty hand away from the dark-eyed genin's neck. The cursed seal was bright red, and it looked almost like Sasuke's flesh was burning.

"S-Sasuke-kun?!... Naruto!?" gasped Sakura, still standing in the same spot. Her hands were covering her mouth, she wasn't sure whether she should worry more about Sasuke, who had almost become a missing nin, or Naruto, who had had a hole put through his chest the previous day.

"Sakura! Get someone! A doctor, or Kakashi-sensei-" Naruto's words cut off when his chest gave a particularly painful throb. The blonde gasped and had to put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to steady himself.

Before Sakura could move, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

"What is going on here?"

Tsunade stood there, with her assistant, Shizune, right behind her.

"Ts-Tsunade-obaa-chan..." gasped Naruto.

The Godaime Hokage stared for a few moments at Sasuke, her face not betraying any emotions. Then she ordered, "Shizune, put Naruto back to bed please, I'll take care of Sasuke." She picked up the youngest Uchiha and began to carry him away, bridal style.

Naruto's eyes widened, the sannin's voice had sounded stony. The blonde worried about what Sasuke's punishment would be.

As Shizune gently took his arm and tried to coerce, and then physically move him, back to his bed, the blonde called after the Hokage, "Tsunade-obaa-chan! He came back! Leave him alone! And he's hurt...!"

Sasuke kept his eyes closed, he was also a bit nervous about what would happen to him, he had heard how tough the current Hokage was.

The female sannin laid the Uchiha on the couch in her office.

"You can open your eyes, Sasuke, and tell me what's wrong." she said, slightly amused.

The pale genin's cheeks reddened the tiniest bit, and he opened his eyes, still grimacing in pain.

"The-the seal..." he gasped.

Tsunade nodded and built up chakra in her hand. She pressed it to the seal, temporarily taking the pain away.

"Kakashi will have to re-seal this..." the medic nin commented. Then she got down to business.

"So you decided to come back, eh?"

Sasuke immediately lowered his head, just in case his face betrayed any emotion.

"I'm prepared to accept the consequences for my actions, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smiled slightly, though the boy before her couldn't see it.

"Yes, you did quite a number on Naruto, didn't you?"

The Uchiha grimaced again, with an entirely different kind of pain.

_Naruto...why are you affecting me so much?_

"But I think I'll let you two work that out."

Sasuke looked up, the surprise showing a bit on his face.

Tsunade continued to smirk, and added, "But as a punishment for almost betraying Konoha, you will be banned from any missions for 2 months."

The Uchiha did nothing for a moment, then nodded, actually relieved that his punishment wasn't worse.

The hokage stood and walked to her desk, beginning to shuffle papers.

"Now I'm sure you'll want to go show Naruto that I haven't eaten you alive, Sasuke."

She nodded, gesturing for him to leave.

Sasuke was out of the room in a second. He wasn't sure if he should go back to Naruto's room yet, though. He was very confused.

_Why...why do I keep seeing his face? I...I'm an avenger! I can't think of anyone but Itachi!_

The young Uchiha lectured himself in his head. He sighed and took a few steps, heading toward Naruto's room. But he stopped as he saw a worried looking Hinata hurrying in the same direction, with flowers in her hands and a deep blush on her face. She didn't notice him.

_She likes him. I should leave her alone with him..._

Sasuke wondered why the thought made him feel uncomfortable, almost...sad.

"Are you going back to Naruto's room, Sasuke-kun?" came a voice from behind him.

The pale shinobi whipped around to see Sakura standing there, looking nervous, and still slightly disappointed in him.

Sasuke opened his mouth, then shut it again. He looked toward Naruto's door, then back at Sakura, and finally down at the floor.

"Uh… no. Could-could you just tell him I went home? Thanks." He turned and practically ran down the stairs and out of the building.

_Why would Hinata's crush bother me?_ he thought.

Then a second voice sounded in his head...still his own.

_Because you don't want her to be with him!_

This confused him even more.

_What? Why would that bother me??_

_Usuratonkachi! Because-_

Sasuke suddenly shook his head, for some reason thinking that he didn't want to hear the answer.

Not allowing himself another thought, he immediately began to make his way home.

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AN- sigh I'm having a bit of writer's block on this, so it might be a little while before I can update again...

But thank you very much to everyone who reviewed, I hope I get more!


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